Extensible vacuum cleaner conduit



April 1940- A. A. FORSBERG I 2,196,459

. EXTENSIBLE VACUUM CLEANER CONDUIT Filed March 26, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY i -4.- INVEXTOR T A. A. FORSBERG 2,196,459

EXTENSIBLE VACUUM CLEANER CONDUIT Filed March 26, '1937 April 9, 1940.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WWW '"n oRNE'Y in referring to various Patented AprQ9, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE EXTENSIBLE VACIlEIfI ELEANER 'CONDUIT V i Axel Albert Forsberg,

Application March 26,

In Germany 4 Claims.

This invention relates to an air conduit for vacuum cleaners or the like and more particularly to arigid wand of the type which forms a handle for a nozzle or other cleaning implement and connects the same to a suction hose.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved wand of the above type.

Another object is to provide a wand which is adjustable in length to suit the convenience of 19 the operator.

Another object is to provide a wand of the above type which can be locked in any adjusted position.

Another object is to provide a novel and im- 15 proved locking mechanism for the above purpose.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.

Althoughthe novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention will be more particularly pointedout in the claims appended hereto, the broader aspects of the invention will be better understood by referring to 25 the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are set forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side ele ation of a vacuum cleaner having a wand constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a broken side elevation, partly in sec- 7 tion, showing the wand with the parts fully tele- 35 s ped;

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the parts extended;

. F 4 is a device; v

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; w

detail view of one form. of locking Fig. 6 is a detail view of a different form of locking device illustrating another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. Tis a transverse section taken along the line 1-| of Fig. 6; v Fig. 8 is aperspective view of the locking saddle shown in Figs.'6 and 7; Fig. 9 is a detail view of another form-of locking device; and

f Fig. 10 is a transverse section taken along the line ill-40 of Fig. 9.

f In the following description and in the claims,

certain specific terms are used for convenience Stockholm, Sweden, assign- Del., a cor- 193'7, Serial No. 133,117

March 28, 1936 details of the invention.

It is to be understood, however, that these terms are to be givenas broad an interpretation as the state of the art will permit.

Referring to the drawings more in detail, Fig. 1 shows a vacuum cleaner ID of standard construc- 6 tion having a suction hose ll connected thereto and attached .to an air conducting handle or wand l2 embodying the present invention. A suction nozzle I3 is connected to the wand i2 in the usual manner.

The. wand I2 is formed of two tubular telescoping members It and [5 which are arranged so that the member M telescopes within the member l5. On the free end of the member Hi there is rigidly attached a connector sleeve l6 which is adapted to receive the nozzle l3. To the opposite end of the member 14 is secured a sleeve I! having an outwardly extending radial flange Illwhich rests against the end of the member H for positioning the-sleeve H thereon and which extends so slightly beyond the outer surface of said member to provide a stop in the manner to be described.

The sleeve 11 is also provided with radial flanges l9 and which are spaced to form an annular channel ing material 23 is held. 'This packing material is preferably made of soft or elastic materiahsuch as felt, leather or the like and forms a sliding fit with the inner surface of the member l5.

A sleeve 26 is attached to the free end of the '30 member l5 and is provided with a radial flange which seats over the end of the member l5 and projects inwardly to engage the flange 20 ofthe sleeve I! for limiting the telescoping movement,

of the members It and I5. The sleeve 24 is ex-' '35 tended beyond the flange 25 to form a tubular connecting member 26 which is adapted to be connected to the hose II. This connecting mem-, ber 26 is preferably made somewhat resilient so as to securely but detachably engage said hose.

The pther end of the member l5 carries a sleeve 30 which issimilar in form to the sleeve l'l above mentioned .and is provided with a radial flange 3| forming a shoulder which seats against the end of the member l5 and extends inwardly past the surface of said member to engage the flange l8 of the sleeve H- for limiting the. ex-

tension of the members It and 15 'as illustrated in Fig. 3. The sleeve 30 is also provided with radial flanges 32 and 33 which are spaced to form anannular channel-34 therebetween in which packing material 35 is held. This packing matepacking material 23 above the rial is similar to the mentioned and provides a sliding fit with outer surface of the member ll.

2| therebetween in which pack- 25 It is to be understood that the members l4 and 15 are made of any rigid material, such as metal, synthetic resin or other molding composition and that the sleeves above mentioned are rigidly secured thereto in any convenient manner.

In order to lock the members l4 and I5 in any adjusted position a suitable means is provided for clamping the packing material 35 against the outer surface of the member l4. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 2 to 5, this is accom plished by forming a plurality of spaced flexible tongues 36 in the sleeve 30 in engagement with the packing material 35. These tongues 36 are provided with outwardly extending projections or bosses 31 for the purpose to be described.

A rotatable locking ring 46 is positioned around the sleeve 30 and is provided at its ends with inturned flanges 4| and 42 which extend over the flanges 32 and 33, respectively, for holding the ring 40 in position on the sleeve 30. The ring 40 is provided with a plurality of spaced depressions or recesses 43 which correspond in position to the projections 31 on the tongues 36 and are arranged to provide clearance for said projections when they are positioned in alignment therewith. When the ring 40 is rotated, however, its inner surface engages the projections 31 to depress the same and thereby'flexes the tongues 36 inwardly and causes the tongues to clamp the packing material 35 against the outer surface of the member l4.

In the operation of the above described device, the ring 40 is positioned to bring the recesses 43 into alignment with the projections 31 of the tongues 36 so as to release the members i4 and I5 for relative telescoping movement. After suitable adjustment of these members has been made, the members are locked in adjusted position by rotating the ring 40 slightly so as to depress the tongues 36 and clamp the packing material 35 against outer surface of the member H as above described. In the form shown, the

member I4 is sufficiently long to extend beyond the member i 5 when the members are in fully telescoped position so as to provide a grip for the operator to be used in adjusting the members.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 6 and '7 the members I4 and I5 and the sleeves l1 and 30 are arranged in the manner set forth above, In this embodiment, however, the tongues 36 in the end of the sleeve 30 are omitted and a semicircular saddle 45 is loosely mounted between the packing material 35 and the sleeve 30. This saddle is provided with a projection 46 which extends through a suitable aperture 41 in the sleeve 36. A lockingring 48 is positioned over the sleeve 30 and is provided with inturned flanges .49 and 50 extending over the flanges 32 and 33 of said sleeve 30 to secure the ring 48 in position thereon. The ring 48 is provided with an outwardly extending portion 5| terminating in a shoulder 52 and having a cam surface which is adapted to depress the projection 46 of the saddle 45 when the ring 48 is rotated.

In this embodiment the members [4 and I5 are locked in any adjusted position by rotating the ring 48 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. '7, so as to cause the cam surface of portion 5! to engage the projection 46 and depress the saddle 45, thereby clam-ping the packing material 35 against the outer surface of the member [4. For releasing the members, the sleeve 48 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction until the shoulder 52 engage; the projection 46 as shownin Fig. '7. In this position the cam sur face of portion 5| provides clearance for the projection 46 and releases the pressure on. the saddle 45. In the form shown in Figs. 6 and 7,

a single saddle 45 and projection 46 are used.-

It is to be understood, however, that two or more such locking devices may be distributed around the periphery of the packing material if desired.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the various parts are similar to those described above with, the exception of the sleeve 30. In this embodiment the sleeve 30 is provided with a peripheral groove 56 of substantial width for the purpose to be described and is provided with a conical end portion 58 beyond the radial groove 56. A locking ring 59, extends over the conical end 58 of the sleeve 30 and is provided with an inturned, flange 60 which engages and slides in the radial groove 56. The outer end of the locking ring 59. is provided with an inturned flange 6| and with an inner conical member 62 having a shoulder 63 and a flange 64 which are spaced to receive and hold packing material 35. The conical member 62 is provided with a plurality of spaced axial slits 65 between which resilient tongues 66 are formed. The conical member 62 and the conical section 58 of the sleeve 30 are arranged so that axial movement of the conical member 62 causes pressure to be exerted by the conical section 58 which depresses the tongues 66 and clamps the packing material 35 against the outer surface of the member l4.

In this embodiment the members are clamped in any desired position or are released by causing the axial movement of the locking ring- 59. In order to facilitate the operation of this ring, the surface thereof may be fiuted as indicated in Fig. 9 or may be otherwise formed with means the following claims when interpretedin view of the prior art.

What 1 claim is: g 1. A wand for vacuum cleaners and the like having a suction hose and a cleaning nozzle,

comprising a pair of telescoping members adapted to be connected respectively to said hose and said nozzle, one of said members carrying flexible fingers adapted to exert controlled pressure on the other of said members, a locking ring axially slidable on said first mentioned member, said locking ring having a tapered surface to engage said fingers to cause the same. to frictionally lock the members in any extended position. I 1

2. Awand for'vacuum cleaners'and the like having a suction hose and a cleaning nozzle,

comprising a pair of telescoping members adapted to be connected respectively to said hose and said nozzle, a sleeve carried by one of said members, soft packing material held in said sleeve in sliding engagement with the other of said members, a movable member engaging said pack-p ing material and a locking ring movably mounted on the exterior of the outer telescoping member clamp said packing against said other member for locking the same in any extended position.

3. A 'wand for vacuum cleaners and the like including a pair of substantially rigid hollow cylindrical imperforate fluid conveying telescoping members, a clamping member carried by the outer of said telescoping members including an arcuate' member formed with a radially outwardly extending projection, and a sleeve rotatably secured to said outer member, said sleeve having an internal cam surface cooperating with said projection to force said arcuate member into clamping relationship with the inner of said telescoping members upon rotation of said sleeve, whereby said telescoping members are locked together.

' 4. A wand for vacuum cleaners and the like including a pair .of substantially rigid hollow cylindrical imperforate fluid conveying telescoping members, a clamping member carried by the outer of said telescoping members including an' arcuate member formed with a radially outwardly extending projection, a packing ring between the arcuate member and the inner of said telescoping members, and a sleeve rotatably secured to said outer member, said sleeve having an internal cam surface cooperating with said projection to displace said arcuate member so as to clamp said packing against said inner member, whereby said telescoping members are locked together.

AXEL ALBERT FORSBERG. 

